JPH04278961A - Image carrier driving device for print cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To couple an image carrier and the driving shaft of a print cartridge without rattling and to prevent the respective parts from being damaged when the print cartridge is inserted in a device main body. CONSTITUTION:The print cartridge is obtained by providing the image carrier 2, a primary electrostatic charger 3 and a cleaner 8 in a housing 13. The print cartridge is inserted in the device main body 1 so that it can be drawn out. The image carrier 2 is shaped like a drum obtained by fitting flanges at both end parts of a drum 40. A shaft supporting body 43 having a shaft supporting hole 44 provided with a key groove 45 is provided on the center of the rotation of one flange 41 and the supporting body 43 is pivotally supported by the housing 13 so that it is freely rotated. Simultaneously, a recessed part 51 is formed at the tip part of the driving shaft 49 which is pivotally supported by the device main body 1. Then, a key 50 which is engaged with the groove 45 is provided in the recessed part 51 freely and rockingly. Besides, the key 50 is energized rockingly to the outside by a spring 53.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention provides an image bearing member of a print cartridge in which the image bearing member and the image forming device in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a printer can be pulled out and inserted as one unit from the main body of the apparatus. It relates to a driving device.

0002

[Prior Art] Image forming apparatuses include image forming equipment such as a primary charger, an image exposure section, a developing device, a transfer charger, and a cleaner, which are arranged around an image carrier, and the primary charger holds the image. The surface of the body is uniformly charged, then imagewise exposed to form an electrostatic latent image, the electrostatic latent image is developed into a visible image using a developing machine, and the visible image is transferred onto paper using a charger. There is a known method in which the toner is transferred and the paper is sent to a fixing device to be fixed, and the residual toner on the image carrier is cleaned with a cleaner. In such an image forming apparatus, the life of the image carrier and the image forming equipment is short, and it is necessary to periodically inspect, repair, or replace the image forming apparatus.
As shown in the above publication, the image carrier and some of the image forming devices are integrated into a print cartridge, and the print cartridge is detachable from the main body of the device for inspection and inspection.
It facilitates repair and replacement work. It is important for the image bearing member of such a print cartridge to be driven at a constant speed during image forming operation in order to form an image without periodic deviation.
For this purpose, it is necessary to connect the drive shaft supported on the apparatus main body side and the image carrier so that there is no misalignment or play.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a bearing hole c is formed at the center of rotation of a flange b in an image carrier a, and engagement grooves d are formed radially around the outer periphery of the bearing hole c. A drive transmission shaft g is inserted into the shaft center hole f of the drive shaft e supported in the
and press the pin i provided on the drive transmission shaft g against one end of the elongated hole j of the drive shaft e to hold it so that it does not come out. By inserting the print cartridge into the main body of the device, the bearing hole c is fitted to the tip of the drive transmission shaft g, and the engagement groove d is inserted into the drive transmission shaft g. The drive pin k connects the image carrier and the drive shaft e concentrically, and the image carrier a can be rotated by the drive shaft e, and when the print cartridge is inserted into the main body of the apparatus, the flange b Even if the drive pin k of the drive transmission shaft g collides with the drive pin k of the drive transmission shaft g, the drive transmission shaft g moves against the spring b, so that the flange b and the drive transmission shaft g are not damaged.

0004

[Problem to be solved by the invention] With such a device,
Since the drive transmission shaft g slides with respect to the drive shaft e, the drive transmission element g wobbles with respect to the drive shaft e, and the image carrier a wobbles with respect to the drive shaft e, which adversely affects image formation. It may be harmful. Further, since the drive transmitter g is biased to protrude by a spring h, a force is applied to push the image carrier a in a direction to remove it from the apparatus main body, making it easier for the image carrier a to come off.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image carrier driving device for a print cartridge that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The image carrier 2 of the print cartridge has a drum shape with flanges attached to both ends of a drum 40, and a shaft support hole 44 with a key groove 45 at the center of rotation of one of the flanges 41. A shaft support 43 is provided, and the shaft support 43 is rotatably supported on the housing 13, and a drive shaft 49 supported on the device main body 1 is provided.
An image of a print cartridge in which a recessed part 51 is formed at the tip of the print cartridge, a key 50 that fits into the key groove 45 is swingably provided in the recessed part 51, and is biased outwardly by a spring 53. Carrying drive device.

[Function] Shaft support 43 attached to flange 41
The image carrier 2
and the drive shaft 49 can be connected concentrically, and the drive shaft 49 can be connected concentrically.
Since the rotation of the print cartridge is transmitted to the shaft support 43 by the key 50 and the keyway 45, rattling can be prevented, and even if the keyway 45 and the key 50 do not match when inserting the print cartridge into the main body 1, the key 50 can be Since it is pushed into the recessed part 51 against the spring 53, there is no chance of damaging any parts.

[0006]

[Embodiment] FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus, in which an image bearing member 2 is provided in the apparatus main body 1, and around the image bearing member 2, a primary charger 3, a developing device 4, a pre-transfer A charger 5, a transfer charger 6, a separation charger 7, a cleaner 8, etc. are arranged in sequence, and the primary charger 3 charges the image carrier 2.
After uniformly charging the surface of the paper, the image exposure mechanism 9 exposes the image to form an electrostatic latent image.The developing device 4 develops the electrostatic latent image into a visible image, and the paper in the paper tray 10 is fed. A mechanism 11 conveys the visible image to the image carrier 2, the transfer charger 6 transfers the visible image onto a sheet of paper, and the sheet is sent to a fixing device 12 where it is fixed, thereby making a copy. The image exposure mechanism 9
This is a laser system consisting of a laser oscillator, a rotating mirror, and a plurality of mirrors, and is configured to receive image information from an external OA device and expose an image onto an image carrier. The image carrier 2, primary charger 3, and cleaner 8 are attached to a housing 13 to constitute a print cartridge A, and the housing 13 can be inserted and pulled out along a guide rail 14 provided in the main body 1 of the apparatus. The print cartridge A can be pulled out from the apparatus main body 1 and inserted.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the housing 13 includes one side plate 20, the other side plate 21, and a peripheral wall 22. The peripheral wall 22 has a cleaner housing 23, and the cleaner housing 23 has a cleaning blade 24,
A fur brush 25 and an auger 26 are provided, and a slide rail 27 is provided on one side, and a cover body 28 is attached across the upper surfaces of the one side plate 20 and the other side plate 21.
An opening window 29 is formed in the cover body 28 in the longitudinal direction, and the protruding end becomes the other side slide rail 30,
A positioning side plate 31 is provided on the one side plate 20, a side plate 32 is attached to the other side plate 21, and the primary charger 3 is attached on the cover 28, and the cover 28, the one side plate 20, and others are attached. A grid 33 of the primary charger 3 is attached between the side plate 21 and the upper surface thereof. As a result, the housing 13 is configured such that the slide rail 27 on one side and the slide rail 30 on the other side are slidable in the axial direction of the image carrier 2 along the guide rail 14 provided in the main body 1 of the apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image carrier 2 has a drum shape in which plastic flanges are fitted to both ends of a metal drum 40, and the image carrier 2 is attached to the center of rotation of one of the flanges 41. A mounting hole 42 is formed, and a metal shaft support 43 is fitted and fixed in this mounting hole 42. The shaft support body 43 has a small diameter portion 43a having a shaft support hole 44.
and a large diameter part 43b having a plurality of keyways 45 radially as shown in FIG. The diameter portion 43b projects outward from the flange 41, and the large diameter portion 43b is attached to the other side plate 21 of the housing 13 with a bearing 46.
It is rotatably supported via. A drive shaft 49 is rotatably supported by the device main body 1, for example, the rear frame 1a,
The tip of this drive shaft 49 is connected to the shaft support hole 44 of the shaft support body 43.
The image carrier 2 and the drive shaft 49 are concentrically connected at the fitting portion, and the key 50 provided on the drive shaft 49 is fitted into the key groove 45, so that the rotation is controlled by the shaft support. 43 to drive the image carrier 2. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a key 50 is provided in a concave portion 51 of the drive shaft 49 and is supported by a pin 52 so as to be able to swing vertically.
3, it is biased to protrude outward. Note that since the toner collected by the cleaner 8 is stored inside the image carrier 2, the shaft support 43 has a bottom and the interior of the image carrier 2 is sealed. When pulling out, fitting the shaft support hole 44 to the tip of the drive shaft 49, and pulling it out, the space 54 between the shaft support hole 44 and the front end surface of the drive shaft 49 becomes negative pressure and high pressure, so the shaft support A drill hole 55 is formed in the small diameter portion 43a of the body 43, and the drill hole 51 is opened to the outside through a groove 56 of the flange 41.

[0009]

Effects of the Invention: The image carrier 2 and the drive shaft 49 can be connected concentrically at the fitting portion between the shaft support hole 44 of the shaft support 43 attached to the flange 41 and the drive shaft 49, and the rotation of the drive shaft 49 can be prevented. is transmitted to the shaft support body 43 by the key 50 and the keyway 45, so rattling can be prevented. Further, even if the keyway 45 and the key 50 do not match when inserting the print cartridge into the apparatus main body 1, the key 50 can be pushed into the recessed part 51 against the spring 53, so there is no damage to the various parts. In addition, since the drive shaft 49 is fitted to the shaft support 43 attached to the flange 41, even if the flange 41 is made of plastic, the shaft support 43 is made of metal, so that the fitting part with the drive shaft 49 can be quickly formed. It is possible to prevent wear, the image carrier 2 can be made inexpensive, and the durability of the connecting portion with the drive shaft 49 can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a connecting portion between an image carrier and a drive shaft.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a connecting portion between an image carrier and a drive shaft.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the print cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the print cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the print cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the print cartridge.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Apparatus main body, 2 Image carrier, 13 Housing, 40 Drum, 41 Flange, 43 Shaft support, 44 Shaft support hole, 45 Keyway, 49 Drive shaft, 50 Key, 51 Recess, 53 Spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image carrier 2 and at least one image forming device are provided in a housing 13 to form a print cartridge. It has a drum shape with flanges attached to both ends, and a shaft support 43 having a shaft support hole 44 with a keyway 45 is provided at the center of rotation of one of the flanges 41, and the shaft support 43 is attached to the housing 13. A recessed portion 51 is formed at the tip of the drive shaft 49 which is rotatably supported and supported on the device main body 1, and a key 50 that fits into the key groove 45 is swingably provided in the recessed portion 51. An image carrier driving device for a print cartridge, characterized in that the image carrier is biased outwardly by a spring 53.